Confrontations

"Was that not Miss Qiao Mei?"

"That's definitely her, she recently came two days ago after some year."

"Who is that white-hair guy with her? I saw them together yesterday, along with the boy training."

"Oh, I remember now: he was brought home by Miss Qiao Lian some weeks ago."

"It's strange, I can't sense any aura from him. Meaning, he is either a crippled cultivator or a powerful cultivator able to hide his cultivation."

"A powerful cultivator? What a joke….. hehehe…. If he is a powerful cultivator, then why is he unknown and why the need for basic training yesterday."

"He's just trash. I don't know where Miss Qiao Lian found such a weakling and brought him back. I've never heard such person being part of the Qiao Family."

"He is lucky to catch the eye of Qiao Lian and even now personally trained by Qiao Mei, two hot mistresses."

"Watch your tongue, if you're overheard, I pity your miserable life."

"Calm down, what will happen to me? Don't pretend you don't have your eyes on the mistresses, especially Miss Qiao Lian with her curvy figure."

Several guards patrolling whispered amongst themselves as they watched Liam and Qiao Mei walk into the distance after descending the hill.

"Stop the gossip and get back into position, don't repeat this rubbish, I'll make you face the consequences. Bunch of weaklings complaining about someone else," A deep voice commanded from behind the guards.

The guards were startled when they heard the voice, cold sweat forming on their foreheads.

"Are you still standing there, or have you suddenly gone dumb?" the voice questioned, emitting an oppressive aura.

Fearfully, the guards chorused, "Sorry, sir," before running back to their positions.

The figure that spoke was the head of the outer guards. He looked towards the direction of Liam and Qiao Mei, then shook his head.

"What was she thinking when bringing him here?"

******

Liam was puzzled by Qiao Mei's sudden question. 

'Did she know about my plan all along?' When he thought about this possibility, he felt a strange coldness, making him wonder if he had been too careless and his agenda had been discovered.

Liam maintained his composure and softly chuckled as he answered. "Who wouldn't want to get stronger to protect their lady...." 

Qiao Mei raised her hand, signaling for him to stay quiet.

Qiao Mei's gaze became firm as she said. "You might be able to blind my sister with your fake confession but not me," "You're planning to escape?"

"In this life, power is everything. You either have it or you're at the mercy of those who do." Liam spoke in a sharp tone then paused.

"I can't be at the mercy of anyone. What are you going to do about it? Turn me in or report this to your cousin?" 

Liam demanded, his eyes dead serious as he looked at Qiao Mei without any fear in them, silently calculating her next move.

At this point, his guard was at the highest, ready for the worst, even though he knew Qiao Mei was powerful.

For his survival, he would get rid of anyone who stands in his way or is a threat to him. If it takes him to become a demon to rise to the top, he would become a bloody and heartless demon because in this world, it's either you devour or be devoured.

Qiao Mei's face furrowed at his word.

He was straightforward and didn't bother to deny it or cover up with lies.

The hot tension between the two could be felt in the air, it was as if any second there was going to be an outburst between them with the way it was.

However, unexpectedly, Qiao Mei's expression relaxed after observing him, sensing a strange air of confidence around him as he maintained his stance against her despite his weakness.

Liam was taken aback in surprise by her relaxation but remained alert in case she launched a surprise attack.

"Now, let get back to the training."

Liam, with narrowed eyes, was startled, wondering if he had heard her correctly. His eyes fixed on her, his expression became thoughtful as he heard her words.

"We don't have all day for this. After today, there are only two days left, and not much time." 

Hearing her words again, Liam's expression fell as reality dawned on him. With his eyes on her, he detected sincerity, but he didn't immediately rush forward to continue with the training and still kept his distance from her for safety.

Qiao Mei silently stood there, without emitting any aura, like an innocent and harmless girl who couldn't even hurt a fly.

Liam observed with a baffled look as the situation felt weird to him.

"Okay, I'm ready now," "What is the training?" Liam spoke after the short silence.

He could tell that she sincerely meant her words. Qiao Mei was strong, so he saw no reason why she would back down.

Since she didn't talk about it again, he would put that aside and get back to his training. Later, he would find out why she asked that sudden question.

"You see those boulders there," She slowly answered, pointing at the rocks in front. "That's what you'll train with."

Liam looked stunningly at the boulders in front.

A few meters from them, there were numerous rocks, arranged in an orderly way, from small to larger ones. Strangely, there were numbers crafted on the rocks, ranging from one to fifty.

Liam's face furrowed with confusion.

"The numbers are there on the boulders to guide people like you to monitor progress in how much weight you can lift. At this stage, as a beginner trainee, you need to go through the process of starting with the small ones, then with time, you can advance to the bigger ones, depending on what your body can handle as you progress," Qiao Mei immediately explained when she felt his eyes on her.

"Don't be in a haste to try it out; it can cause damage and harm to your body instead of helping to build your body strength, or worse, it can crush you. If there is nobody around to help you quickly, then it's a pity," added Qiao Mei with a serious expression.

He frowned at her words, but deep down, he understood every word. Just by looking, the biggest boulder was too large, like a small hill. If Liam hadn't seen this in Xianxia Eroge while playing the game in his previous life, he would have tagged it as an impossible task. However, he knew in this world, anything is possible with power; as a fantasy world, it was.

"Then, firstly, at this point, I just need to know which number my current body strength can lift now...." Liam nodded his head in understanding, his eyes flashing with interest at which number he could lift.

"Exactly," Qiao Mei commented.

Liam approached the boulders, standing in front of the smallest number.

Without hesitation, he lifted the boulder into the air effortlessly. Before he could put it down, Qiao Mei's voice drifted over to his ear.

"Don't drop it immediately. Carry it for at least five minutes and let your body feel the impact before moving on to the next one."

Liam, with the boulder, slowly began to move his hands up and down. For two minutes, it felt like he was lifting nothing. Getting close to four minutes, his hands began to feel the small weight of the boulder, which his body needed

He moved on to the next one after completing the five minutes, and with a short struggle, he still lifted the second one into the air. Repeating the same action, this time, moving his hand up and down was a little difficult; nevertheless, he completed the five minutes.

Qiao Mei stare interestingly at him at which number he could currently carry.

Liam sighed and didn't rush to carry the next one. The boulder was at his knee level.

A minute later, he bent down and tried to carry the number three boulder. For forty seconds, he struggled to even lift it off the ground. Liam didn't give up and, the next minute, he succeeded.

With his face masked with the huge pressure of the weight, he stood still to gain his balance before slowly starting to move his hands with difficulty. Unlike the previous two, sweat poured out of his hands within the first few minutes.

His legs pressed down firmly onto the ground and gritted teeth, he struggled under the weight of the number three boulder. With three minutes remaining for the completion, his hands began to tremble weakly.

Sweat poured down his body.

The strength in his hands drained as he tried to maintain his standing; it wasn't easy.

*Thud!*

A gush of wind hit the boulder, sending it falling a few feet from him.

"That's enough. At this current state, your body can slightly take the number three. Don't try to force it," Qiao Mei said, coming towards him.

Liam stood firmly with sweat trickling down his body, his eyes closed as he felt his body fill with strength.

'It is effective,' he thought.

"Now, you know which numbers your body can handle. Sit down and allow your body to adjust to the movement to build your muscle reflexes" Qiao Mei advised.

Obediently, he sat down in the same spot and closed his eyes. Truly, he could feel his muscles pulsing with energy, and his inner body receiving a fair share of this energy too.

An hour passed without his knowledge before he opened his eyes, and Qiao Mei was no longer there.

He knew she wouldn't leave like that and would be around, watching him from a secret place.

Liam didn't immediately go back to the boulders; he left them and started performing yesterday's training while completing the system quest.